New Year Honours 2018 - Citations for Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit

New Year Honours 2018 - Citations for Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit

To be a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:

BASSETT, The Honourable Dr Michael Edward Rainton, QSO, JP

For services as a historian

The Honourable Dr Michael Bassett is a former Member of Parliament, and an academic and historian who was appointed a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order in 1992.

Since that time Dr Bassett has resumed his academic career and made further contributions in governance roles. He was a Professor of History at the University of Western Ontario from 1992 to 1996 and taught at the Auckland University Medical School from 1997 to 2000. He was a Fulbright Scholar of New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 2002. He is the author of 15 books, primarily political histories and biographies, 12 of which have been published since 1993. He published his most recent book ‘New Zealand’s Prime Ministers: From Dick Seddon to John Key’ in 2017. He was a member of the Waitangi Tribunal from 1994 to 2004. He was a Board member of the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa from 2009 to 2013. Dr Bassett has been a regular columnist for Fairfax newspapers and in 2004 won the Quantas Media Award for Best Political Columnist in New Zealand.

HONOURS

Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for Public Services, Queen’s Birthday 1992

BIRNIE, Mr William Norman (Bill)

For services to governance, the arts and sport

Mr William Birnie has served on the boards of numerous charities and other groups, contributing his financial skills to ensure successful outcomes.

Mr Birnie has had a successful career, primarily as an investment banker but also as a member of the boards of a number of entities including Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand, Far North Holdings Ltd, and the New Zealand Film Commission. He led the development of BlackGold, which connects philanthropic investors with the sport system, and is currently Chairman. His other philanthropic activities have included serving as Chairman of the charity KidsCan since 2010. He has helped double the number of low decile schools assisted by the charity, and grown its revenue to more than $7 million per annum. He is also a Trustee of the Pet Refuge New Zealand Charitable Trust. He served on the board of the New Zealand Equestrian Federation from 1999 to 2009, helping it through significant financial issues. Mr Birnie led key financial negotiations to establish the Wellington Regional Stadium in the 1990s, and has served as trustee for several arts organisations including Play it Strange, James Wallace Arts Trust, Circa Theatre Artists Charitable Trust, and Wellington Arts Festival.

CARNABY, Dr Garth Alan, MNZM

For services to science and governance

Dr Garth Carnaby was elected as President of the Royal Society of New Zealand from 2009 to 2012, during which time he was central to the redevelopment of the Thorndon site and oversaw inclusion of the humanities via new legislation.

Dr Carnaby was Chair of the Marsden Fund Council from 2004 to 2009, overseeing growth of the fund over this period to around $40 million per annum. He was appointed establishment Chair of the Dodd-Walls Centre of Research Excellence in 2014. He has chaired the New Zealand Synchrotron Group since 2006, which manages New Zealand’s investment in Australasia’s largest science infrastructure project. He chairs the BioResource Processing Alliance, which manages 120 industry-led projects aimed at developing new products from waste streams. He chaired the Canterbury Development Corporation from 2007 to 2016, during which time he oversaw the establishment of the CORE Education Charitable Trust and the development of a regional innovation system. In a return to personal research Dr Carnaby has established a new capability in wool research now based at Lincoln Agritech Ltd. This initiative aims to reposition wool as a raw material for new industrial uses in cosmetics, personal care, paper making and synthetic fibre sectors.

DUNNE, The Honourable Peter Francis

The Honourable Peter Dunne has been a Member of Parliament for 33 years, holding the Ōhariu electorate in its variant forms for 11 consecutive terms until retiring from politics in 2017.

Mr Dunne was first elected to Parliament as the Labour Party candidate for Ōhariu in 1984, after which he became a Parliamentary Undersecretary. Having resigned from the Labour Party in 1994 he joined the United New Zealand Party. He later became leader of the United Future New Zealand Party in 2000, after his United Party merged with Future New Zealand. He held the position of party leader of United Future until 2017. He has held Ministerial portfolios for a total of 14 years across the Fourth and Fifth Labour Governments and the Fourth and Fifth National Governments. His Ministerial portfolios have included Regional Development, Revenue and Internal Affairs and he has been Associate Minister of Health, Conservation, Environment, and Justice. From December 2008 to August 2009 he was Chairman of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee. As Associate Minister of Health he played a significant role in delivering the 2015-2020 National Drug Policy. As Minister of Internal Affairs Mr Dunne played a key role in the establishment of Fire and Emergency New Zealand in 2017, which amalgamated New Zealand’s urban and rural fire services.

IP, Dr Bess Manying (Manying), ONZM

For services to the Chinese community and education

Dr Manying Ip is Emeritus Professor of the University of Auckland’s School of Asian Studies.

Dr Ip was Associate Dean, Postgraduate Studies from 2002 to 2004 and Associate Dean, International for three years prior. She has researched a range of issues relating to Chinese New Zealanders, with a more recent emphasis on interactions between the Chinese and Māori communities. Most recently she has written ‘Aliens at my Table: Asians as New Zealanders see them’ (2005) and the landmark study ‘Being Māori Chinese: Mixed Identities’ (2008). She was the editor and a contributor to ‘Unfolding History, Evolving Identity: The Chinese in New Zealand’ (2003) and ‘The Dragon and the Taniwha: Māori and Chinese in New Zealand’ (2009). She authored the academic study ‘Transmigration and the New Chinese: Theories and practices from the New Zealand experience’ (2011). She is a Trustee of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Board and was a member of the Human Rights Commission Race Relations Advisory Committee. She was an advisor to the Chinese Conservation Education Trust and a founding member and Australasian regional representative of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas. She was co-director of the 2004 television documentary ‘New Faces Old Fears’, which explored the racism faced by Asians in New Zealand. Dr Ip is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

HONOURS

ROLLESTON, Dr William Blair Rhodes

For services to the farming industry

Dr William Rolleston was President of Federated Farmers New Zealand from 2014 until 2017, having previously held the role of Vice President.

As President Dr Rolleston has championed evidence-based arguments and bringing science to the fore, as well as engaging farmers with their impact on the environment and to proactively seek solutions to these issues. Under his leadership the primary industry moved to negotiate Government Industry Agreements for Biosecurity. In 2011 he played a pivotal role in the formation of the ‘Farmy Army’ in response to the Christchurch earthquake, and was a volunteer himself. He was elected Vice President of the World Farmers Organisation in July 2015 and appointed Acting President from September 2016 until June 2017. He co-established the biotechnology company South Pacific Sera (SPS) in 1988, producing high quality biologicals for export. Through SPS he has supported the Woodhouse Scholars Programme, which provides educational opportunities for young people from South Canterbury in the biological sciences. He was the founding Chairman of New Zealand’s Biotechnology Industry Organisation and of the Life Sciences Network, an umbrella organisation of national science and industry organisations who advocated for science-based regulation of genetic modification. Dr Rolleston has been appointed to various government science policy positions.

VALINTINE, Ms Frances

Ms Frances Valintine has established three successful education organisations over the past 19 years and is a prominent spokesperson and mentor for women in the technology sector.

From 1998 Ms Valintine co-led the Media Design School, a tertiary institution that provides specialist training for the visual effects and computer game industries. In 2013 she founded The Mind Lab in Auckland, providing students workshops and programmes with a focus on science, technology, and creativity. Since launch The Mind Lab has delivered education programmes to more than 100,000 students and 3,000 teachers have upskilled through postgraduate studies in digital & collaborative learning. She then launched the Tech Futures Lab in 2016 and has since worked with and advised hundreds of businesses navigating digital transformation, as well as working with executives studying a Masters in technological futures. She is a member of the Callaghan Innovation Board, KEA - Worldclass New Zealander's Network, Talentnomics based in Washington DC for the empowerment of female leaders in developing nations, and the Artificial Intelligence Forum New Zealand. Ms Valintine was inducted into the New Zealand HiTech Hall of Fame and has a number of personal commitments mentoring young people and supporting start-up businesses as they grow and scale.

WHEELER, Mr Graeme Paul

For services to the State

Mr Graeme Wheeler was Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for a term from 2012 to 2017.

Mr Wheeler began working at the New Zealand Treasury in 1973. From 1984 to 1990 he was economic and financial counselor for the New Zealand delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, eventually becoming Treasurer of the New Zealand Debt Management Office and Deputy Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury in 1993. He began working for the World Bank Group in 1997, initially as director of the Financial Products and Services Department. He was Vice President and Treasurer from 2001 to 2006 before becoming managing director of operations at the World Bank until 2010. As Managing Director, he led the World Bank's interactions with the IMF on the Global Financial Crisis, and represented the World Bank at the G8, G20, Development Committee, International Monetary and Financial Committee, and Financial Stability Forum. Mr Wheeler co-founded as advisory company in 2010 that provided advice on Russian privatisation to investors and Russian policy makers.